If you wish to print Le Chéile you can download the issue from above and use the print menu option when you view the magazine. Your computer setup may allow you to choose Booklet Form when printing. Please contact us if you need assistance.

If you wish to print Le Chéile you can download the issue from above and use the print menu option when you view the magazine. Your computer setup may allow you to choose Booklet Form when printing. Please contact us if you need assistance.

With the Irish Open 2016 coming to the K Club, Clane is one of the localities selected by Kildare County Council to get involved in an event which will see some of the world’s finest golfers play here in Kildare, including Rory McIlroy and recent Masters winner Danny Willett. Clane has declared itself Open for the period of the Irish Open, May 19th to 22nd and is looking forward to welcoming visitors to this vibrant community with its fascinating history and buzzing array of shops, cafes, restaurants and bars.

The centrepiece of Clane Open is the Friday night, 20th May, which will feature a FREE concert in the Main Street. It will commence at 6.45 pm with Clondalkin Youth Marching Band marching from McKennas along the Main Street to the church and followed with a concert in the Church grounds at 7pm featuring singer/songwriter Mick Dunne, acclaimed fiddler Margaret Doherty and the Angela Brien school of Dancing as well as face-painting for children. There will be music in all the pubs that night too and shops will be open late- so do come along and enjoy the hospitality of this attractive and friendly village.

On Saturday 21st May there will be a Clane History Walk, also free of charge, meeting at Manzor’s Village Inn car park at 11am, with four guides taking different topics such as Clane’s role in 1798, the little known tale of Mathilda Tone, visiting Clane’s oldest man-made object and the “Garden of the Angels” to mention just a few stories in this hour long journey into the past. Craft beer is big news at the moment and Clane’s own Kelly’s Mountain Brew will be open between 12 noon and 3pm in Clane Business Park if you want to call by and learn all about brewing!

Other events to be held during the week include a shop window competition, children’s involvement through a golf-themed colouring competition, with prizes awarded at the concert, as well as a visit to the schools by a golfing pro “ambassador” from the Open. No less than two of Clane’s own Opens will be held in Millicent Golf Club, one for Seniors on Tuesday 17th May and a general one on Wednesday 18th May. All this adds up to a lot of reasons to include a visit to Clane in your plans for Open week!

Clane’s Tidy Towns campaign for 2015 is now in full swing. Volunteers gather every Tuesday at 7:30pm outside the Abbey. In recent weeks the Kildare 13th Beavers, the Staff of SuperValu Clane, the pupils of Scoil Phádraig and several of the businesses on Main Street have made wonderful contributions. Would you or your organisation like to get involved? Just drop down some Tuesday you have an hour or two free or contact us at ClaneTidyTowns@gmail.com

A big thanks to everyone who helped in the National Clean-Up day event held on March 21st last. The enthusiastic volunteers tackled several areas including:

An empty skip at the start of the day

The River Liffey – thanks to Clane Trout and Salmon Anglers Association

The old entrance to Abbeylands

The field beside Lidl

The Celbridge Road

Parts of Capdoo Lane

The Ballynagappagh Road

Loughanure Commons

Nancy’s Lane

Between them they managed to fill a full roll-on skip of rubbish kindly hosted for us by Joe Campbell. Other trailer loads of rubbish were collected from the ditches of Clane and deposited in large skips in Rathcoffey.

It is disappointing that this volume of rubbish is still being dumped in and around our village, but our sincere thanks to everyone who helped tackle this issue on the day, and to the Tir na Mona network for a delicious lunch and for coordinating the broader countryside clean-up in this part of County Kildare.

Cleaning up the Old Abbeylands Entrance

Cllr Padraig McEvoy with the rubbish collected from Nancy’s Lane

Clane Trout and Salmon Angler’s Association collected this material from the Liffey

Clane has in its midst some amazing people and organisations who go above and beyond in their contributions of time and energy for the good of the community.

Throughout its history Clane Community Council has attempted to acknowledge such generosity by presenting Community Awards. Last year, in 2013, this format was reorganised a little with the launch of The Claonadh Award. The Claonadh Award is our community’s way of thanking an individual – or possibly a group – for making a particularly significant contribution to our community.

For her tireless efforts on behalf of those in our community with intellectual disabilities, for her championing of those living with physical challenges, and for helping to improve the quality of life for all of us in Clane, the Claonadh Award 2014 has been presented to Frida Lowry.

Over 28 years ago Maurice Shortt encouraged Frida, a new resident of Clane, to spend some time with KARE, a group that promotes inclusion for people with Intellectual Disabilities. Frida became so dedicated to this cause that she rose to board level of the organisation, and has continued to this day to tackle the needs of some of the more vulnerable in our community, through KARE, and through other complementary initiatives.

Back in 1992 Frida founded The Hang Out Club – a social club for teenagers with an intellectual disability in the greater Clane area. With the help of people like Teresa Killick and many volunteers, it now provides a wonderful social outlet for over 25 teenage members and a similar number of helpers.

With the establishment of Clane Access Group, Frida has also created a voice for those of us with physical challenges. Consulting closely with experts in the field, with local property owners and with Kildare County Council, Clane Access Group has helped make Clane a significantly more accessible village than it used to be. This has genuinely transformed the quality of life for many in our community. It has made it possible for more people in our community to enjoy access to the basic facilities that many of us take for granted.

John Kennedy, Chairman of Clane Community Council, was honoured to present The Claonadh Award to Frida at the Christmas celebration held in the Abbey Community Centre on Sunday December 7th last.

Frida Lowry being presented with The Claonadh Award 2014 by John Kennedy, the Chairman of Clane Community Council

Clane Tidy Towns founding member Tony McEvoy compered the evening. John Kennedy, Chairman of Clane Community Council, congratulated the Tidy Towns team and everyone that contributed to their efforts on a wonderful year. It was a remarkable year for Clane took home its first medal in the National Tidy Towns competition, a bronze, a wonderful achievement for which everyone should be proud.

Tony then listed some of the local businesses, organisations, clubs and individuals that had contributed to this years success. This assistance was supplemented by the great work of the residents and their residents’ associations, as visible through their efforts in the Best Kept Estate competition.

The prizewinners were announced by Tidy Towns team member Jeanette Drumm, and presented by Ted Murray of Clane Project Centre, the generous sponsors of the competition.

Every resident, business, club and organisation that contributed to Clane Tidy Towns activities in 2014 can take a bow: for the first time in its 40 years of participation, Clane was awarded a Bronze Medal in the national Tidy Towns competition 2014.

With a maximum score being 450 points, for our size of village Clane was just 9 points behind Silver medalists Buncrana and Youghal and 23 away from a Gold which was earned by Westport, Skerries and Carrickmacross.

Tidy towns has evolved significantly over the recent years and is no longer just about tidiness. The total of 450 points are available from the following categories:

Community Involvement & Planning (60)

Built Environment and Streetscape (50)

Landscaping and Open Spaces (50)

Wildlife, Habitats and Natural Amenities (50)

Sustainable Waste and Resource Management (50)

Tidiness and Litter Control (90)

Residential Streets & Housing Areas (50)

Approach Roads, Streets & Lanes (50)

The commitment of the volunteers on the Clane Tidy Towns team, together with the wonderful contributions of the many Resident’s Associations, Businesses, Schools and Community Groups in Clane were all noticed and commended by the adjudicator.

You can read all the details for yourself in the two-page Adjudicator Report for Clane. Please take a look and see how we were judged. If you have any suggestions for how Clane can do even better in future years we would love to hear from you. You can email ClaneTidyTowns@gmail.com, come along to any of our meetings in the Community Calendar, or talk to any of the Tidy Towns team in person.

One great opportunity to meet the team will be our annual awards night which will be held later in October. This will be a special night to celebrate all the hard work of the community. We will publish more details on ClaneCommunity.ie as we get closer to the time…if you haven’t joined the Community Council mailing list already you can click here to stay informed.

Clane Community Council is delighted to have received $2810 – over €2100 – from Intel Ireland this year as part of their Intel Involved community outreach programme.

Martine Grogan, Rita Mahon, Tony McEvoy and John Kennedy, all members of Clane Community Council, delighted to receive the donation from Intel

Intel distributes an amount based on the number of hours its employees volunteer with each approved charity. 2013 was a particularly busy year for the Community Council and with several Intel employees contributing substantial personal time the grant received reflected this.

John Kennedy, Chairman of Clane Community Council and himself an Intel employee, thanked Intel for their generous support of the Community Council. The money will be used to support the numerous initiatives it continues to run on behalf of the community including Clane Tidy Towns, Clane and Rathcoffey Community Games, Clane Frairy and Abbey Graveyard, and Lé Cheile.

If you or people you know happen to work in Intel – please get in touch if you’d like to find out more about the scheme.

The Clane Community Council Golf Classic is now an eagerly awaited annual event, made possible in recent years by the generous support of Nellie Dillon-Ford on behalf of Larchfield Park Nursing Home, celebrating 25 years of excellence in nursing care for the elderly. The Golf Classic represents the main source of funding for the voluntary Community Council and the money raised supports the voluntary work that the Council does in the village, including the need this year, again, for extensive work on the fabric of the Abbey, the symbol of Clane. The Council, besides providing a forum for discussion of local issues and representation of the Community’s interests, is an umbrella organisation for many projects, including:

Tidy Towns

Community Games

The Abbey Community Centre

The Abbey Garden of Remembrance

Friary and Abbey Graveyard on the Sallins Road

Liffeyside Nature Park

The Stream Park in the village centre, now the playground

Clane Heritage Project

We hope that you will be able to support our Golf Classic at Millicent Golf Club, Clane on Friday August 15th with tee-times between 1.30pm and 4pm, although those who wish to play at other times will be accommodated.

Three person team, including a curry dinner, is €160

Sponsorship of a hole is also available for €75

The time sheet is in Marron’s Pharmacy. Your support is very much appreciated and will be acknowledged through Le Chéile, local newspapers and prominent signs at the golf course on the day.